Kevin Paul Dupont is a well-regarded hockey writer for the Boston Globe, but when it comes to political commentary, he leaves much to be desired. Mr. Dupont writes a column today — in typical Boston Globe sports columnist style — utterly lambasting Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas for conscientiously objecting to the obligatory White House photo op with President Obama yesterday. Thomas, who was playoff MVP in the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup (and for the record, was otherworldly), released a brief statement explaining his decision not to attend the event: “I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.”
Mr. Dupont calls Thomas’s decision “shabby. Immature. Unprofessional. Self-centered. Bush league.” Yesterday’s event, he argues, “was not about politics and government until Thomas made it about politics and government.” But that is a silly claim. The White House championship team photo op is, like everything done for public consumption at the White House, a political event. It is a feel-good event that will get attention on ESPN and other outlets that may not cover politics on a regular basis. It is a chance for a president to show his lighter-side connection with the “Average Joe,” who watches sporting events when he’s not working 9-to-5.
Notably, no one at the Boston Globe complained when Red Sox owner John Henry and general manager Theo Epstein, both dyed-in-the-wool Democrats, opted out of the invites to the Bush White House after the 2007 World Series. Nor should they have. While there are considerations of common courtesy in deciding whether to accept such an invitation, a player, manager or owner might reasonably choose not to take part in a rah-rah event by a president that they do not support. You might accuse Tim Thomas of a lack of courtesy and even lack of consideration for his teammates, as Mr. Dupont does. His approach, however, is preferable to the “courageous” alternative suggested by Mr. Dupont, who argued that Thomas would have been better served by showing up and giving President Obama a piece of his mind. Now, how would that have been perceived in very blue Boston?
Mr. Dupont’s most woeful error, however, was in suggesting that Thomas’s disagreement with the current government equals a lack of love of country. “It was the same government yesterday, and will be today, that protected his country, his security, his family, and his right to make $5 million a year, all last season.” Tim Thomas was a U.S. Olympian and won a silver medal for his country. Mr. Dupont contends that someone “so disgusted with our government ought to turn in the sweater and the medal. It must be a horrible burden, if not a pox, to have them in his house.”
Tim Thomas’s objections to the excesses of government are entirely American, born of his love of country, not harbored in spite of it. I suspect his decision yesterday was carefully made, with due consideration of his team and his country. Sportswriters at the Globe can disagree with it, but you should not question the integrity of the man.
Here is a bigger reason: Barack Obama is not a hockey fan. Has he ever said anything before this expressing his desire to go home and watch the hockey game? Not that I can recall. Barack Obama likes basket ball, football and of course...golf. Lot's of golf.
Hockey? Not too much.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseESPN went even further than this moronic columnist. They sneered at Thomas, and then showed the full remarks of Obama yakking it up with the players. Usually, these sort of things play in the background as file footage while the hosts prattle on about hockey. ESPN, "If you dis' our guy, we will give him extra TV time."
Oh well, sports reporting is the "Toys R Us" of news... It's journalism for monosyllabic writers.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI agree 100% with DuPont. The President is not only head of the government but the head of state. For this ungrateful, overpaid piece of dog excrement to make such a political statement while snubbing the United States is reprehensible. No class. Maybe he took too many pucks to the head?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe President is not a king. If a free citizen decides that he would like to spend his time doing something other than helping the president's reelection campaign (which is what these meetings with sports teams amount to), that free citizen should do so. The President issues invitations, not summonses.
Accepting the invitation, then telling the President off to his face, would be rude. It would be on par with the President using his speeches to criticize specific people in attendance at the speech (who are unable to respond) -- but it would still be rude. Kudos to Thomas for not taking that route.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDog excrement? Because he didn't want to be used as a political prop? You have lost your mind.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat a surprise. Slide agrees with lib hack Dupont. How dare anyone refuse a command performance before the Great and Powerful Ob,right? What is the world coming to? Off with his head!
Well, Slide's hero may be a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood, but he and his followers are certainly not soft on athletes who don't know their place.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAwesome Star Trek reference there. Good job.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI note all of SLide's glowing praise for President Bush, and his condemantion of the other two people mentioned in the article for snubbing President Bush.
But then consistancy, like dead cops, matter little to slide.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRight. After all, it's our duty to bow down to the head of state for a photo op,
OUR DUTY!!!!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTheo also skipped in 04.
I've seen other people suggesting that TT should've looked PrezBarry in the eye and told him what he thought was wrong with the country.
Yeah.
Can you see the headlines from that?
I can't believe the number of Bruin fans calling for TT to be cut, traded, benched. My God....
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse>I can't believe the number of Bruin fans calling for TT to be cut, traded, benched.
They are not Bruins fans.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou left off the rest of his statement in which he blames both parties for our current state. Valid point.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCoulda been worse- Tim could have sent Obama an 8-track audio tape of his best saves.
I mean, it ain't like Tim snubbed an entire country, you know, one about the size of the United Kingdom.
The Great Admonicator gets a taste of his own medicine- eat your peas, idiot.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGood for Tim Thomas....if his Bruins teammates are ok with it (and it seems that they are), the Boston Globe and ESPN have no business getting involved. The Globe and ESPN are the ones making a political statement by blowing this out of proportion, not Thomas.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseObama can still single out Tim at the SOTU address for a round of presidential chastisement- remember, he won, you know.
Hell, it might elevate a hockey player to the Supreme Court.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMr. Thomas's decision was un-American and un-patriotic. But it was not wrong.
The President is the President. No matter who occupies the office, we should respect the office. Political views have little to do with it. If an American is invited to the White House, the invitation should be accepted, with one exception, if the person has a personal reason not to attend (for example, the current occupier of the office was once the person's boss and fired him).
That is not to say that Mr. Thomas does not have a right to his political views. Of course he does. I would have had a lot more respect for Mr. Thomas if he had accepted the invitation and expressed his political views at the same time.
As for the Red Sox owners. Pox on them, too. If Congressman Boehner can play golf with President Obama, Mr. Thomas can accept recognition.
Bad form. WFB would not have approved.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Mr. Thomas's decision was un-American and un-patriotic."
-way wide of the mark; enough from Obama is enough.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo we all need to base everything we do on WWWFB do?
And can you imagine the coverage if TT had done what you suggest? Now that would've been hijacking a team event, it would have been rude and it would have been wrong.
No, not going was better.
And Boehner playing golf with PrezBarry was very wrong. We are not their friends. This is not the days of Tip and Ronny having drinks at the end of the day. This is war for the future of the country--indeed, the survival of the country.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse>If an American is invited to the White House, the invitation should be accepted
Why? Because we're all required to be stage props for the President's PR purposes? That's an interesting view, but I don't think it is widely shared.
If Obama wants to call me up and congratulate me on something, I assure you I will respond with sincere gratitude and appreciation. If he asks me to fly to DC so he can have his picture with me on the news, I'm going to decline.
And hey, if he is so interested in congratulating the Bruins above all else, I do hope Obama put in a call to Tim Thomas after this. He should say "I respect your views and I am sorry I couldn't congratulate you in person, so I wanted to do it over the phone at least." And he should keep it off the news. I keep hearing Obama is wonderful, so I am sure this already happened.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYes. He should go.
He does not have to be a stage prop. Shake the president's hand and refuse to have picture taken.
I agree that he should NOT express his views while visiting the White House. He is an invited guest. Now, if he were to ask (being the MVP and all) to have a beer with the president to talk politics, I think that would be ok.
I have no problem with that.
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